Wall panel cooking unit



April 5, 1960 c. LANG 2,931,873

WALL PANEL COOKING UNIT Filed Sept. 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

Char/es Lang INVENTOR April 5, 1960 c. LANG 2,931,873

WALL PANEL COOKING UNIT Filed Sept. 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CharlesLang INVENTOR Unit d Sees Patent 2,931,873 WALL PANEL COOKING UNITCharles Lang, Ship Bottom, NJ. Application September 19, 1958, SerialNo. 762,138

1 Claim. (Cl. 200-1365) This invention relates to cooking equipment and,more particularly, to an electrical wall panel cooking unit.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a neat and compactwall cooking unit that is normally maintained in a completely closedposition when not in use, so as to provide for a most attractiveappearance and most efiicient use of kitchen counter surfaces.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wall panelcooking unit that is completely devoid of top stove burners, completelyconcealed when not in use, and which is particularly useful in congestedareas.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a wall panelcooking unit of the above type that can be readily recessed in existingwalls or built into new wall construction units, includes a minimumnumber of parts, and has individual controls for each of the cookingutensils associated therewith.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a wall panel cooking unitbearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has aminimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and efiicient inoperation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention,reference may be had to the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a food preparation area embodying awall panel cooking unit made in accordance with one form of the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of certain parts ofthe apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse cross sectional viewtaken along line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a modified formof construction;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of aremovable electrical connector forming a part of the present invention;and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing a still further modifiedform of construction.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, a wall panel cooking unitmade in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a wallmember 13 having portions defining. a recess 12 adjacent to the countertop 14. A closure panel 16 is hingedly connected adjacent to its lowerend, by means of hinge pins 17, to the lowermost extremity of the recessdefining portions of the wall 13. The cover panel 16 is also providedwith handles 18 adjacent to the opposite extremity, which handles arespaced outwardly from the plane of the lower panel a distancesubstantially equal to the distance between the hinge 17 and the uppersurface of the counter top 14, whereby the cover panel 16 will besubstantially parallel to the counter top when in an open position.Spring ball type detents 19 associated with the recessed definingportions of the wall 13 and the cover panel 16 releasably secure thecover panel in a normally closed position when the stove unit is not inuse.

, 2,931,873 Patented Apr. 5, 1960 tivelysecure them in a closedinoperative position. Combined handles and feet elements 24 integralwith the outer side of each such connector 21 enables the units to bepulled outwardly and downwardly for use, and the en- 'gagement of thesefeet elements 24 with the inside surface of the cover panel 16 maintainthem in a substantially horizontal position. As is more clearly shown inFigure 3 of the drawing, each such connector 21 includes 7 a pluralityof bus bars 26 that are connected at one end to the electrical supplyline 27 and at the opposite end are provided with individual sockets 29which slidably ceive the male plugs of various cooking utensils, such asfrying pans, percolators, and the like. In addition, each such connector21 is provided with temperature control knobs 30 which vary the amountof current supplied to the cooking utensil, to thus control the amountof heat produced thereby.

In Figure 4 of the drawing, a modified form of construction 35 is shownwherein a plurality of individual receptacles 36 are mounted withinrecesses 38 within the main recess 12 of the wall 13. Each suchreceptacle 36 has a plurality of female sockets 39 that slidably receivethe male prongs 41 of associated connectors 42 that have depending feet43 for supporting them upon the inside surface of the cover panel 16 ina substantially horizontal position. Individual control knobs 46associated with these connectors 42 control the amount of electricalenergy supplied to the cooking utensil having its male prongs connectedto the female socket members 44 thereof.

In Figure 6 of the drawing, still another arrangement 50 is shownwherein the cover panel 16 is provided with an integral bay 51 ofreentrant portions 53 and alternately spaced apart receptacles 54. Eachsuch receptacle is provided with female sockets 55 for slidablyreceiving the male prongs of a connector, such as that illustrated inFigure 5, to which the cooking utensil is ultimately connected forenergization. Each of these receptacles 54 is provided with anindividual control knob 56 for limiting the electrical energy deliveredto the utensil, and further includes pilot lamps 58 to indicate which ofthe receptacles is in use.

In each of the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, itwill be evident that a minimum amount of space is required for mountingthe unit in existing wall units or in new construction, such as inhomes, cottages, and trailers. When not in use, all of the operatingparts are completely concealed and hidden from view, so that all of theusable counter space is available for other purposes. In addition, theunit is particularly easy to clean, requires little maintenance, and isattractive in appearance.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to Patent of the United States is:

A cooking unit comprising a wall having portions adjacent to a countertop defining an enlarged recess, a closure panel hingedly supported atits lower edge upon said wall portions for pivotal movement between anormally closed position and a lowered open position substantiallyparallel to the counter top, handle means on protect by Letters theclosure panel engageable with said counter top to support the closurepanel therefrom and parallel thereto and at substantially the sameheight as the distance of its hinged connection with the recess abovethe counter top, said recess having a plurality of relatively smallercounter recesses, electrical energy supply units 'pivotally mounted insaid recesses at their lower edges and similarly provided with handlesengageable with said closure panel when in its lowered open position tosupport the supply units upon the closure panel and parallel thereto,each of said electrical energy supply units having individual socketsadapted to slidably receive male plugs of various cooking utensils andtemperature control elements accessible from the top of the units.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,973,273 Teller et al Sept. 11, 1934 2,109,006 Davis Feb. 22, 19382,722,592 Pellegrin -Nov. 1, 1955 2,738,411 Sandin Mar. 13, 19562,808,497 Kesling et al. Oct. 1, 1957

